Despite YG Entertainment’s scheduled return of a 67 billion won ($56.6 million) investment to LVMH this week, the French luxury giant is still projected to lose around 8 billion won due to the decline in the K-pop agency’s stock value, local reports said Monday. According to reports citing financial industry sources, LVMH also purchased 503,588 common shares of YG worth 20.3 billion won when it bought 1,359,688 redeemable convertible preferred shares in the entertainment agency via i

Dunamu, an operator of global cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, announced Monday that it plans to launch a comprehensive over-the-counter trading platform that deals with all types of unlisted stocks. According to the Upbit operator, it will jointly launch the platform, which will be available in the form of an app, with local brokerage Samsung Securities and big data analytics company Deep Search by the end of the month.  The goal of this collaborative effort is to address the problem of &ldq

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment for the fourth quarter of the year worsened due to external uncertainties, a survey showed Monday.The business sentiment index, compiled by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stood at 72 for the October-December period, slightly down from 73 the previous quarter, KCCI said in a statement. The BSI figure has stayed below the break-even threshold of 100 for the past 14 consecutive quarters. The last time the BSI was above 100 was in the third

Of the combined savings deposits held by major banks in South Korea, nearly half belonged to the nation’s top 1 percent of income earners, a report from the Financial Supervisory Service showed Sunday. According to the report released via a minor opposition Bareunmirae Party lawmaker, 18 commercial banks operating in Korea held a combined 283.3 trillion won ($238.9 billion) on behalf of its clients in the top 1 percent income bracket, which accounted for 45.5 percent of the total deposits,

SEJONG – It’s still too early to call it confidence, but optimism is growing among some capital-market participants and analysts in South Korea over the possibility that stock prices will rebound. They cite favorable external factors involving eased concerns about the trade dispute between the US and China as the prospects of a bilateral compromise grow.The benchmark Kospi has been swayed by external factors like global financial crisis over the past few years or decades. However, li

South Korean stocks are expected to build further gains as the United States and China reached a partial deal to end their trade war and as the Bank of Korea's rate decision comes under focus.On Friday (Washington time), US president Donald Trump unveiled the first phase of a deal with China to end their yearlong trade row that has roiled the global financial market and suspended a planned tariff hike.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,044.61 Friday, up 1.2 percent from

Korea and Japan on Friday ended their first round of talks on a bilateral trade dispute with an agreement to meet again for further consultations.    The two sides met in Geneva to discuss South Korea's complaint with the World Trade Organization over Japan's export controls against the South.    "We agreed that further consultations are necessary, and decided to schedule a second round of bilateral talks through diplomatic channels," Chung Hae-kwan, the c

South Korea and Japan launched their bilateral talks on Friday in Switzerland to discuss the ongoing trade row between the two Asian neighbors, the first step toward resolving the dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO).    The meeting, held in Geneva, came after Japan implemented regulations on the export to South Korea of three industrial materials vital for the production of chips and displays.     Last month, South Korea formally filed a complain

   South Korea will provide support worth more than 2 trillion won ($1.6 billion) each year to strengthen industrial competitiveness, the finance minister said Friday, amid an ongoing trade row with Japan.   Hong Nam-ki also said South Korea will push for a stable supply of key industrial materials, parts and equipment.   The move is the latest in a series of South Korea's efforts to reduce South Korea's heavy reliance on Japan in the key industrial sector amid Jap

South Korea's finance minister expressed hope Thursday that Seoul's increased contribution to the U.N. Green Climate Fund could help with its successful replenishment. Hong Nam-ki made the comment in a meeting with Yannick Glemarec, executive director of the Green Climate Fund, at the government complex building in central Seoul.Last month, Asia's fourth-largest economy announced that it would double its contribution to US$200 million for this first round of the replenishment of the fund. Seoul

Financial authorities on Thursday began to accept applications for a second round of bids for a preliminary license to operate the nation’s third internet-only bank, according to the Financial Services Commission.Unlike the first round earlier in the year, however, concerns are mounting that market expectations may have soured, as only one consortium confirmed its bid on the first day.“The business license for a new internet-only bank is the FSC’s top priority task for the seco

Labor market rigidity, low entrepreneurship cited as hurdles as Korea takes 13th spot

Online consumers outside of South Korea are mostly interested in buying Korean brand beauty products like cosmetics and perfumes, a survey from the Korea International Trade Association showed Wednesday. The survey of 460 consumers in the US, China and Europe conducted by online shopping platform Kmall24 showed that 26 percent of them picked K-beauty as the most desired shopping category. Following that were K-pop-related products such as music albums and DVDs at 24 percent and food and beverage

Riding on word-of-mouth through social media, E-mart is seeing a whopping increase in its sales of sushi products, the retail chain said Wednesday.With 65 million pieces of sushi having been sold within the January to September period this year, E-mart said it expects sales to reach 100 million by the year’s end. An official explained the sales amount translates to 2.78 pieces of sushi being sold each second over that period.E-mart has been targeting the sushi market by using fresh fish in

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles to look into the weakening of the global economic framework in light of fading liberalism and the rise of trade protectionism and nationalism. This is the fourth installment. -- Ed.After last year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the headlines announced a first in the forum’s 25-year history: Its 21 members had failed to reach a consensus on a joint communique, one repercussion from the ongoing US-China trade war. In rece